Vahram Sargsyan
Vahram Sargsyan is an Armenian-Canadian composer, choral conductor and vocalist based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
His work spans chamber, choral, and vocal music and often engages contemporary compositional practices and extended vocal techniques. He was awarded the Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music in 2023 for his composition Quiet Songs.
Biography
Vahram Sargsyan studied composition with Ashot Zohrabyan at the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory from 1998 to 2003, while also studying choral conducting with Tigran Hekekyan, which he completed in 2006. He later pursued graduate-level composition studies at the Schulich School of Music, McGill University, working with composer Philippe Leroux.Sargsyan’s music has been performed internationally in Europe, North America, and Asia, including performances in Armenia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Japan, and the United States. His composition Luys Zvart was performed at the 6th World Symposium on Choral Music.
His arrangement of Khorurd Metz was published in Oxford University Press's anthology World Carols for Choirs and has been recorded by BBC Singers. It has been broadcast by BBC Radio 3.
Sargsyan has received commissions from Oxford University Press, Norddeutscher Rundfunk, and AGBU Foundation, CBC Radio and others. His work Hunting the Hunter was premiered under his own baton in 2012 at Carnegie Hall.
In addition to his compositional work, Sargsyan is active as a lecturer and workshop leader, presenting on extended vocal techniques and contemporary choral practices. His workshops and presentations have been featured at international choral festivals and conferences, including the, Europa Cantat, the ACDA Regional Conference, and PODIUM Conference among others.
Vahram Sargsyan is a member of Composers' Union of Armenia, Canadian League of Composers, and Canadian Music Centre.
Awards
- Artiste de l’année à Laval
- Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music, for Quiet Songs
- Winner, POLYPHONOS 2017 Commission Competition
- Third Prize, Godfrey Ridout Award from the SOCAN Foundation, for Tribulationes
- Winner, 3rd BCE Commission Competition, for Tribulationes
- First Prize, International Contest for New Choral Compositions, for Anegh Bnutiun
- Award, World Armenian Congress “for creative achievements”, for Mythis
- Co-winner, European Seminar for Young Composers, for Laudate Dominum
- Co-winner, Choral Composition Competition, for Tantum ergo
Selected works
Orchestral
- Ter yete - God, if, mixed chorus, large orchestra, 2003
- Mythis, 18 strings, 2008
Chamber music
- Five Images, cello, piano, 1996
- Poem, cello, piano, 1998
- Sonatina, clarinet, piano, 1999
- String Quartet, 2000
- Music for 13, large ensemble, 2002
- Selbstvergessenheit, 2 clarinets, cello, piano, 2006
- Deux Silhouettes Féminines, soprano, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, 2007
- Hunting the Hunter, clarinet, marimba, 2 violins, viola, cello, piano, 2012
- deperson, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, 2013
- Gandz, large ensemble, 2013
Choral
- Tkhur meran - Sadly Departed, female chorus, 1999
- Kesgisher - Midnight, mixed chorus, 1999
- Voghormya - Lord, Have Mercy, mixed chorus, 2000
- Luys Zvart - Joyful Light, female chorus, 2001
- Lux aeterna, mixed chorus, 2004
- Tantum ergo, mixed chorus, 2006
- Domine Deus, 7 mixed voices, 2007
- Laudate Dominum, mixed chorus, 2008
- Anegh Bnutiun, female chorus, 2008
- Dzaynik, female chorus, 2009
- Ilik, female chorus, 2009
- Stabat Mater, mixed chorus, 2010
- Tribulationes, mixed chorus, 2010
- Wage Peace, mixed chorus, 2011
Piano
- Visions, 1997
- Variations, 1999